The Many Shades of Purple
by beedivine
Summary: Purple. It was the first thing that sparked James Potters interest in Lily Evans, but it was by no means the last.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **Okay so this was written for Izabel Lightwood's The Feeling of Color Challenge. The challenge was to write a fic around a specific color and the feeling that the color represents. My color being light purple and my feeling being romance or nostalgia.  
Oh, and just a side note, this is my first chaptered fic. Ever. Yay!

_Prologue_

The candle-lit jack-o-lanterns sent errie flickering shadows dancing on the living room walls of the small cottage. The half-full bowl of candy corn sitting on the coffee table only added to the sweet candy smells floating out of the kitchen. It was only a small taste of the Halloween festivities that were going on outside of their home, but it was all that the small family could safely partake in.

A giggle erupted into the silence. A small boy, with tousled black hair was sitting on his fathers lap, stretching his arms into the air, attempting to grab hold of the toy bat that his father had charmed to fly in circles around them. The father and son looked extraordinarily alike, that is, except for their eyes. While the son's were a bright emerald, the fathers were a soft hazel.

The was a whispering of swishing cotton from the doorway to the room, and the man, James, looked up to see his young wife leaning against the door frame. Her strawberry locks flowing to just past her shoulders, and her emerald eyes, the same eyes of their son, were wide and vulnerable looking. The lavender dress she wore hugged tightly to her small frame, showing off the slight curves of her body -- but James, staring directly into her eyes, hardly noticed this. He stood, the bat and his wand lay forgotten on the sofa, and his son safely snuggled in his arms as he started toward her. She took a step to meet him, wrapped her arms around the two of them, and gently layed her head to rest on his shoulder. James shifted his son to his left arm, and with his right reached up to stroke her long, soft, hair.

"Lily..." he whispered into her hair. They stayed like that, while their son drifted off to sleep between the two of them. The only sound coming from the boys occasional snores.

A raucous crash, coming from the front gate, put an end to the couples breif moment of peace. Quickly, Lily disentangeled herself and ran out into the hall. Seconds later she appeared again, her face pale.

"It's him," her voice was just a hoarse whisper, and her skin seemed to drain of all the remaing color it had as she spoke.

James who had froze at the first sound of disaster, was instantly set into action by her words. He marched toward her deliberately and handed her their son. "I love you," was all he said, his voice loud and clear with the truth of it, but his eyes said something else -- take Harry, get away... stay safe.

She hesitated only for a moment before she closed the distance between them and gave him one last kiss, and then quickly disappeared through the doorway. He could hear her footsteps fading, and new ones growing louder and louder. All too soon, the empty spot where she had stood was replaced with another figure, and had the situation been different James would have laughed out loud at the difference between the two, but as it was....

James reached for his wand just as the figure whipped his own wand out from an inside pocket of his cloak. The movement was so swift that for a moment the figure's arm appeared slightly blurred. In an instant the figure raised his wand, James' attempt at grabbing his own wand for nothing. The figures lips moved, but James scarcely heard the curse that came from his mouth.

A green light flashed, exploding through the room, but in that moment all he saw was purple. At first it was only a soft light that seemed to be emanating from the very center of the green, but it began to grow, quickly, and soon enough it had completely blotted out any traces of green.

**A/N:** Love it? Hate it? I'd love to know what you think, all you have to do is review. =] And I will update as soon as I can [though I would love to have a few reviews first. ;) ]


	2. Winning Fair Ladies' Heart

**A/N: **One thing I'm trying to work on is writing something longer than just a thousand words or so. So hopefully as I write more chapters, they'll start to get a little longer.

**Disclaimer:** I realized I forgot to put a disclaimer on the prologue, so I'll add it to this chapter... Anything you recognize belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling, not me.

_Chapter One - Winning Fair Ladies' Heart_

"You're doing it again mate," said Sirius Black, sounding exasperated. But the young boy sitting next to him didn't appear to hear him, and only continued to stare down at the end of Gryffindor table. "James!" Sirius nearly shouted, but the boy continued to ignore him.

Finally at his wits end, Sirius lifted both his hands and gave James a light shove, sending him sprawling onto his backside on the Great Hall floor, earning laughs from everyone around him. James shot Sirius a look before standing up and taking a bow, "thank you, thank you," he said before sitting down on the bench once again.

"You've really got to learn to control that temper of yours," James said as he picked a ham sandwich off of his plate and took a bite.

"Yes, and you've really got to learn to stop staring at her," Sirius retorted.

"Ah, so that's what this is about," James said through a mouthful of sandwich.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "you know, when you had the whole Hall laughing at you just now, she barely even glanced in your direction. Give up already! It's not like she's even the most good looking girl in this place, with that awful violet ribbon she always has in her hair."

"Since when are you such an expert on fashion?" James said with a raise of his eyebrow and a teasing glint in his eyes. "And give up on her? Its been two weeks! I'm not about to give up yet, just give it time," he sounded completely self assured. "Plus, I think she looks cute with that ribbon in her hair."

Sirius gave a sigh. "You know, there are plenty of girls who do fancy you in our year alone, and I've heard of a few second years and even a third year.

But James didn't appear to have heard a word that Sirius had said, for he once again found himself distracted as a young girl with a violet ribbon in her hair glided past him and toward the entrance hall. "Come on," he said, and with out hesitation, leaped off the bench and grabbed Sirius's arm, dragging him along as he followed her out of the Great Hall.

- - - -

"Remind me why we're doing this again," Sirius asked as the pair of them followed a safe distance behind the small redhead who was headed out to the large oak tree beside the Hogwarts Lake. Although it was an unusually warm November day, it was quite windy, and swirls of leafs blew around the two boys.

"Because I am going to prove you wrong, and win my fair ladies' heart," James said with a flourish of his hands and a cheesy grin on his face.

"Sorry, but in order to 'win your fair ladies' heart,'" he made little air quotations as he said this, "Don't you have to get her to realize that you exist first?"

"That is were this plan of ours-" James started.

"Of yours," Sirius corrected, but James was already continuing.

"-Comes in. We pretend to get in a fight. I win, and Lily sees, she'll be mine by... the end of the month," he said with the utmost confidence.

Sirius snorted. "In twenty-six days? Fine, lets bet on it. I win, and you forget about her. You win, and I will never doubt you again."

"Deal!" James said shaking Sirius's out-stretched arm enthusiastically. "Let go set phase one of 'winning fair ladies' heart' into action!"

- - - -

"Remember," James whispered to Sirius, "You have to let me win, but it has to look real. She can't know we're faking it." Sirius nodded. They were now just ten yards from where Lily sat, leaning up against the old oak.

They were careful not to let Lily notice them before, but now, as they stepped a few yards apart and both raised their wands, they made sure to get her attention.

"You've done it now Potter," Sirius yelled sending, what was hopefully harmless, sparks of yellow-green light flying straight at James. James who was watching to see if Lily was paying them any attention, just managed to jump out of the way of the spell in time before it could hit him directly in the chest.

James snarled a curse right back at Sirius, red beam flying directly over Sirius's ducked head. They went back and forth, sending curse after curse at one another, dodging it just in time. Lily whom had left her place by the oak tree was now standing beside the pair, a look of disbelief etched on her small face.

"Stop it, both of you! One of you is going to get hurt! Oh, just wait until McGonagall finds out about this!" she rambled on. But the boys kept on, the air around them buzzing with electricity. Until at last, Sirius pretended to act tired and out of breath, as he took him time moving out of the way of the latest spell James had sent flying his way. Allowing the curse to hit him square in his chest, he fell flat on his back as the purple light crashed into him. He gave a moan as boils began appearing all over his skin.

Lily gave a shriek and ran towards Sirius. "Look what you've done!" she shouted at James, "Both of you!" she sent a glare Sirius' way.

"I told him I would win," James said with a chuckle, but it cut off the instant he seen the look Lily was sending him. It was obvious from the look she was giving him, that his plan had failed. Well, actually only part of it had failed. Lily Evans had definitely noticed him. Too bad the look of pure loathing that she was sending him now made it obvious that she did not see him as the hero, as his plan had assured she would.

"Come on," she said to Sirius as she grabbed him under the arm to help him up, being careful not to touch any of the boils that were covering his skin. "Lets get you to the hospital wing."

James continued standing there as he watched the two disappeare up the path back towards the castle. He let out a long sigh, his overgrown black hair swaying slightly in the wind as he started back towards the castle. She'll still be mine, James thought, his confidence not the least bit shaken.

**A/N:** I would love to know what you thought of this chapter. What did you think of the interaction between James and Sirius? I almost feel like it's a little hateful at first, but I'm not sure. But anyways, reviews would be awesome, and they encourage me to write more. =]


	3. No Showing Off, No Pranks

**A/N:** I'm sorry its been so long since I have updated this, I'm going to try to do so much more often. I know this chapter is really short, but I liked the ending and felt it would kind of ruin it if I tried to keep it going. I'll try and make the next one longer though. But anyways, I hope you like it! =]

**Disclaimer:** Same as always -- if you recognize it, it belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling, and not me.

_No Showing Off, No Pranks_

It was after nineteen days, fourteen well planned out, and failed, attempts at winning Lily Evans heart that James Potter began to realize he needed a different approach. It was obvious to him now that showing off was not the way to her heart, and that was when he decided to be on his best behavior – no showing off, no pranks.

The Gryffindor common room was illuminated by a roaring fire in the fireplace, casting playful shadows onto the furniture situated within it.

"James!" Sirius Black called as James Potter descended the stairs of the boy's dormitory and strode into the common room. Looking distracted, James made his way through the crowded room to where Sirius lay sprawled out on one of the biggest sofas situated directly in front of the fire. "Where are you going?"

"The library," said James, to which Sirius immediately burst out in a bout of laughter. "Well, I'm not about to just let you win the bet without even trying am I?"

"Since when is there a book in the library of how to make a girl fall madly in love with you -- or to at least make her not hate you so much?" he asked curiously.

James gave a snort. "Books are not the only things in the library you know?" He said before strolling toward the portrait hole and out into the empty corridor. He walked along, whistling to himself, until he reached the library. He walked in, and there she was, just as he knew she would be. Her red hair falling around her face as she hurriedly took notes.

A smile on his face, James sat at one of the few empty tables left, which just so happened to give him a perfect view for watching his dearest Lily Evans. He opened his bag, pulled out books, quills, and parchment, and laid them out on the table before him. He pulled his potions book close to him, and opened it, turning to the page of the potion they were currently studying. He had an essay do in a couple of days, and figured that if he was going to have to be in the library he might as well use that time to get something done.

But it did not take long before James lost interest and found himself staring over at the lovely red head. He watched her with the all of the interest that he had failed to show to his school work, chuckling slightly at how when she was concentrating really hard she would bite her lip, bringing her face slightly closer to the page.

Suddenly she lifted her head and looked around before her eyes landed on James. A frown pulled at her lips, as James gave her a wide smile. She stood and walked over to him.

"Hello Lily. Can I help you?" he asked glancing down toward his books and paper, as if to say he was incredibly busy.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Can you _please_ just be quiet?" she asked with annoyance thick in her voice, and James realized that he must have been laughing louder than he had realized. He was quiet for a moment before a teasing light entered his eyes.

"Why Lily, what in the world do you mean? I think you are rushing to conclusions, there are plenty of other people here, and you automatically assume it was me," James said smoothly. Lily let out a huff and crossed her arm in front of her chest.

"Oh come off it James, I know it was you! I would recognize the sound of that ridiculous laugh anywhere." James smile grew even bigger. "What?" she snapped.

"You just admitted that you recognize the sound of my voice, which obviously means that—" Lily cut him off.

"The only reason that I recognize your voice _James Potter_," she sneered his name, looking quite Slytherin-like in the process, "is because you won't leave me alone." She was getting really worked up, and James had to fight not to laugh.

"Say what you will Lily, say what you will." He waved his hand in the air. "But just know that you are fooling no one," he told her with a wink. "But if I'm bugging you that much then I will leave."

"Good," she said before he had even finished speaking, with what was almost a smirk on her face. She turned on her heel and walked gracefully back to her table, the smell of lavender lingering around him even after she was sitting at her own table once more.

James slowly started packing his books and parchment back into his bag, watching Lily as she dove back into her studies. He would have loved to stay, and just watch her for hours on end – she was so much more interesting than anyone could have possibly realized. But he now knew not to push her too far – or farther than he already had – for today.

He stood up, throwing his bag over his shoulder, and with one last glance back at Lily, walked out of the library, feeling as if he had make more progress today than he had in the last few weeks combined.

**A/N:** I love to know what you thought, so reviews would be awesome. I'll try and get the next chapter up soon.


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